Health Resources and Services Administration awards program with $762,000 grant

HONOLULU — The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa‘s School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene has been awarded a $762,000 training grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to enhance the school‘s doctoral nursing program by converting it to an online program. The change will aid in increasing minority student enrollment and enhancing cultural competency in the curriculum.

"The PhD program is designed to prepare nurse researchers, but it is also a part of a multi-faceted approach to address the nursing shortage with its emphasis on preparing faculty for nursing education," said UH Mānoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene Interim Dean Lois Magnussen. "Without qualified faculty in place, the numbers of students admitted to Hawaiʻi‘s programs will be limited. The redesigned courses will increase access for applicants in rural and underserved areas, especially the neighbor islands, with the intent to increase PhD-prepared nurses to help address the faculty shortage in these areas."

The program, which is directed by Dr. Jillian Inouye, will also be enhanced by increasing enrollment and mentoring students to address the shortage of ethnically diverse faculty and scholars in rural underserved areas. The goal is to have at least 30 percent of students enrolled from rural underserved areas or minority status.

The UH Mānoa PhD in Nursing program is specifically oriented to developing nurse scholars for research and nursing education to improve the health of underserved and ethnically diverse communities.

The project will focus on recruiting minority students—Native Hawaiian, American Asian, and Pacific Islanders—who will teach in nursing programs in rural and underserved areas for next year‘s cohort.

The first student cohort in the converted online program met last week for their week-long campus intensive. Prospective students should contact the school‘s Office of Student Services at (808) 956-8939 for additional information.

The federal grant funding received provides for more than 50 percent of the program costs with the remaining costs supported by the school‘s budget.